Steam rises from a cup of tea
and we are wrapped in history,
inhaling ancient times and lands,
comfort of ages in our hands.
~Faith Greenbowl
Oh glorious Saturday, how much I love you so. Sleeping in is great, simply great, no question about it.
Lately I've been on the sheng kick again. This whole week I've been indulging in my stash of raw puer, which is sitting patiently and aging in my bedroom cabinet upstairs. Many more kicks like that and I won't have much to age.
That's why when Saturday morning came along and the question of what will I be sampling today slipped into my mind, the answer was clear: sheng! More sheng please!
That's why when Saturday morning came along and the question of what will I be sampling today slipped into my mind, the answer was clear: sheng! More sheng please!
Sadly the stash of raw puer never tried samples that I've accumulated over time has been brought down to just one. I had one last sample of sheng puer left to try and this one was from Mandala Tea sent to me back in 2013: 2011 Wild Mountain Green Puer. I can see that the sample was broken off of a larger brick in a careful manner which makes me happy because that means that most of the leaves I received were left intact.
The dry leaves had a pleasant, smooth aroma of vegetables and forest. That is one great combination.
The dry leaves had a pleasant, smooth aroma of vegetables and forest. That is one great combination.
Most of the time when I steep raw puer it's pretty simple. If it's a very young sheng, the steeping time has to be very short or it will turn bitter. 1-2 year old sheng first steep is usually only 10 seconds long tops. Older shengs, for example 10 year old sheng, can be steeped for much longer, anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes. My dillema today was how long do I steep 4 year old sheng?
I went with 30 seconds and I think I hit the jackpot. The resulting soup was light golden brown and the aroma was simply lovely. Forest, wood, flowers and grapes were just some of the notes I picked up. Yummy!
Taste wise it did not disappoint either. The tea was smooth and pleasant tasting and just at the border of bitterness. It didn't taste bitter but I did get the slight astringency in the after taste, telling me that my steeping time was just about right. I love when this happens.
My second steep was just about a minute long and yielded darker golden brown colour with the same exquisite taste. This time, in addition to yummy notes of vegetables, wood and grapes, I also picked up some apricot. I wonder what another steep will bring.
Namaste